A Black Dog's Gratitute
by HappytheExceed
Summary: One shot: set after The Missing King. Kuroh was unpacking his stuff in his & Neko base. He came across a forgotten letter & was reminded a vague encounter with a guy who took care of him over a night when he caught a cold. He decided that he had to thank him & decided to look for him. The only clue was only his facial feature. Spoiler for "Memories of Red" & "The Stray Dog".


**This was just a sudden inspiration after reading **"Memories of Red" and "The Stray Dog". I wasn't interested in K until I watched the movie. Recap could be a waste of time, yet it can be quite useful in organising the plot. I wish the movie, "The Missing King" can be longer.****

**I found it weird to see Kuroh and a particular character fanart in the website. I was reading up manga, "Memories of Red" and "The Stray Dog" here and there to only realise that they had met before. That was the very reason how the fanart came about. I was wondering if Kuroh was actually able to match the face with the name. After reading up "The Stray Dog" and noted that he had met him but he never knew who he was. Not even realizing that he had encountered the mysterious anchor of Homra, even after hearing of his death. I'm trying to explore if I can give some closure for Kuroh to find the person who nursed him back to health when he was sick since Miwa Ichigen's passing. I'm a little surprised to find Kuroh is actually younger than the said guy.**

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><p><strong>A Black Dog's <strong>**Gratitude**

"Let's go and find Shiro!" Neko was tugging Kuroh's arm. Kuroh tsked in annoyance. That was the thirtieth time of the week.

Since Kushina Anna became the new Red King, she had given them a red marble which was meant to be their protective charm. They did not manage to figure out what she meant. Peeking into the marble like usually only Anna could, they finally caught a glimpse of Shiro. It was a huge relief to know that he was still alive but they have no idea how to find him.

"That's enough, Neko. Shiro will come to us eventually as long as we're here." Kuroh had decided. They had agreed in the first place. Kuroh could never understand girls especially Neko whose mood changes faster than the weather.

Kuroh was unpacking his luggage but he had a hard time doing so with Neko's pulling preventing him from doing so.

"No, I won't let's go find Shiro!" Neko cried in exasperation.

During their stifle, something dropped from his luggage. It was a piece of paper.

"Neko, let go!" Kuroh finally raised his voice with a darkened expression and his face twisted in fury causing Neko to jump up in fright and turned herself into a whimpering cat hiding in one corner.

"That's a good cat." Kuroh sighed and walked towards the paper which dropped out from his luggage. It must have been stuck somewhere long forgotten by him. He picked it up and read the message on it.

_"Sorry… looks like the fever's broken so I'll leave this here for you and be off! Thanks for saving me! I hope we had a chance to meet again." _

_"I've left you some canned fruit, so enjoy!" _

It was a message from someone he had saved when he first arrived in Shizume City. Kuroh felt warmth for the very first time since the passing of his most respected Master, Miwa Ichigen to find his favourite canned peach. He asked for it as encouraged by Ichigen-sama when he had first fallen sick under his care. He would never reveal to anyone that he was actually crying when he ate the peach that day before he continued his hunt for the next Colourless King.

Kuroh smiled after reading the piece of paper. Maybe he would go and look for the guy and thank him for it. It was only right to do so even though Kuroh had saved him before.

He turned to the whimpering cat who hissed at him.

"Neko, let's go out! We're looking for a person." Kuroh proposed. The cat suddenly jumped up in delight turning herself back into human form.

"Really? Yatta! We're going to look for Shiro!" Neko exclaimed excitedly.

Even though they had been through the route by the bridge countless time, Neko seemed to be still fascinated by the moving vehicle and the scenery staring out of the window.

Kuroh read the letter again and again in an attempt to recall the guy's feature. Having caught in the rain after his fruitless search since arriving in the city, he had caught a cold. He was in a daze that day when he witnessed two hooligans harassing a blonde guy in blue coat when he was resting in an abandoned building.

Two VS one hardly seemed to be a fair fight to him hence he decided to interject. It did not seem that that guy could even defend himself after all.

_"I can see clearly who's right and who's wrong here." With that he landed punches on the two hooligans who scrambled away in fear. _

_"Wow! You're strong! You have saved me, thanks!" _The guy he had just saved thanked him. Kuroh could not believe he could still smile as though nothing happened. Others would have been scared stiff. He was too carefree for his own good. People would have called him an idiot.

_"You don't look good, are you feeling alright?"_ That was the last words he heard before his world turned black. He did not know how long had passed when he finally woke up covered with a blanket with a towel on his head. His fever had subsided. Someone must have taken care of him throughout the night.

All he found was a message and like Shiro's case, he had only one clue, his facial feature.

"I hope we had a chance to meet again. I feel the same too." Kuroh smiled gently which was noted by Neko who was staring at him with her face closing in to his. They could have ended up kissing if they were closer.

"Hey!" Kuroh was shocked. He was blushing in embarrassment when Neko snatched the piece of paper from him. She pouted.

"Aren't we going to look for Shiro?" She demanded waving the piece of paper which pissed Kuroh off.

"Give me back!" He shouted at the hyper energetic girl.

"Like I said, Shiro will come for us. All we have to do is to stay and watch over the place he calls home. Don't you understand? He'll come home."

"Will he really come home?" Neko asked tearfully. Kuroh sighed in reluctance. He did not know but he believed he would. Kuroh nodded which led to Neko to squeal in excitement.

"So who are we looking for?" Neko asked.

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><p>And they ended up at Homra Bar. Not that they were welcoming of them since he and Neko was from the Silver Clan which was indirectly involved in their previous King's death. After the incident with the Green Clan and saving Kushina Anna from them, Kuroh decided he could count on their King's help. She was a strain with psychic ability. On top of that, she was the new Red King of Homra. If she could get them clue about Shiro, maybe she could locate the mysterious guy for him.<p>

"So, you want Anna, no, our new King to look for a person for you?" A red-headed punk with head band placed his hand on his waist and yelled at Kuroh. Neko hissed in fury.

"What's wrong with you? We helped you before." Neko retorted. The punk, well-known as Yatagarasu was cleaning the bar. He forgotten to do it so he had to do so before the bar master came back and noticed the mess they had made last night.

Yata had become the Number 3 of Homra after obtaining a power boost when Anna became the King. It came as a surprise and he became one of her right-hand man, the "Manager" of Homra while Kusanagi was the second-in-charge for two consecutive Red Kings. Even though Anna became the King, Kusanagi was the one actually calling the shot as Anna's adviser. Kusanagi fitted in nicely due to his experience and he worked under their previous King, Suoh Mikoto since the beginning. Well, for him, he was unable to get used to his role for taking care of the newbies as the so-called "Manager" for them.

"Unfortunately, our King is out for a walk with Kusanagi-san, and they won't be back by noon. Get lost! I'm busy!" Yata shoved the broom under the duo's legs.

"Kuro, say something. He's pissing us off!" Neko cried pointing at the annoyed Yata-san.

"Alright, we'll come back later after lunch." Kuroh kept his cool and stood up.

"Kuroh~" Neko whined following after him.

Kuroh walked towards the door as he passed by a wall. He paused in his step as he looked at it. It was a gallery seemingly all the photos taken by Homra members. He stole a glance at Yata who was cursing and swearing by himself while dealing with the consequence for getting drunk last night. Looking at the photos. There were many photos of the previous King, Suoh Mikoto. Of course there were photos of their members laughing and having fun. Even the Red King had such an unimaginable gentle expression.

Kuroh smiled. Seemed that they were had a really close bond with their King just like him and Ichigen-sama.

"Seems that they are shipping their King too much but Shiro is still the best!" Neko pouted.

"Anna-chan is the sweetest." Neko began to admire the photos of Anna with her shy moment.

Her gaze fell on a photo of a blonde guy. She called out to Kuroh who walked briskly towards the door.

"Hey, Kuro, doesn't he look like Shiro? Since when Shiro had taken a picture with them?" Neko suddenly said pointed her fingers excitedly. Kuroh tsked in annoyance and walked back in reluctance. He could not imagine Shiro having any picture taken with them.

"Which one?" Kuroh asked and his eyes widened when he saw the photo Neko had pointed. It was a group photo of the main members of Homra with most of them he already knew. The one with blonde hair who stood in between the previous Red King and had his arm over Yata's shoulder caught his attention.

It was the same guy he saved back then. The very same guy who nursed him over the night when he was down with fever and bought him a canned peach he missed very much since Ichigen's death.

"Who is this?" Kuroh called out to the red-haired boy who glared at him irritatedly.

"What?" Yata put away his broom and came over. He frowned when he realized what Kuroh was asking. He was reminded by the past when everybody was still together and his King, Mikoto-san, whom he respected very much and the anchor of the group was still around. That was the happiest time of his life which would never be returned to them. Ever since he died, they had never taken another picture. Mikoto was also gone soon after and the group became scattered.

Kuroh noticed that Yata seemed depressed.

"Are you alright?" Kuroh asked in concern.

"He used to be our Number 3, the anchor of Homra, you must have heard of him as the weakest member of Homra." Yata answered quietly. Tears were seen welling up his eyes, not that Yata would admit it.

"He's kind and understanding. Best person I had ever met other than Mikoto-san. Unlike us, he can't fight. Someone who had too much hobbies on his hands. He was able to get along with all of us despite our difference. Everyone still have their smile on when he was still around. We were happy. That day, we should have stopped him from going out or one of us should have followed him when he went to prepare a present for Anna's birthday. He wouldn't have…" Yata actually broke down crying releasing all his pent-up frustration turning away from them unable to say further. He wished he could turn back time. Neko attempted to comfort him by rubbing his shoulder.

Kuroh finally knew who the guy was. He could not believe that a seemingly harmless kind and gentle guy was with Homra which was well known for their brawl and violence. The world was surprisingly small. Fate was really a difficult concept to grasp. It seemed that they would never have a chance to meet again. Fate had made a fool of them.

_"You don't look good, are you feeling alright?"_

_"I hope we had a chance to meet again."_

Ironically, he was a vassal of the previous Colourless King, Miwa Ichigen. His successor was the King who murdered the said guy in the photo, the King he was looking for and hoping to meet to judge whether he had to slay him as per Ichigen-sama's wish. It was ironic that he was involved in the battle between the Red, Blue, Silver and Colourless Kings because of his death.

"Please help me to hand this letter to your King, Anna. She'll understand what this means." Yata stared at him in confusion and took the letter from Kuroh before leaving and not looking back with Neko following closely behind.

Neko watched him. Kuroh was deep in his thought. It was just too quiet between them so she needed to start up a conversation.

"Hey! Kuro, let's have lunch. I'm hungry!" Neko requested with puppy eyes.

Kuroh stared at her and sighed. With her around, he had other things to worry about. Looking for Shiro was one thing. More importantly, he needed to take good care of themselves so that they would be good and well when they finally meet Shiro again. Kuroh finally smiled much to Neko's relief.

"Alright. We'll have lunch!"

"Yatta! I want fish!" Neko cheered.

"Thank you." Kuroh said looking up at the sky. Kuroh had fulfilled his objective.

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><p>The new Red King, Kushina Anna was given the letter from Kuroh by Yata when she came to the bar with Izumo and she locked herself in her room. With her psychic power, she instantly understood. She was not depressed. In fact she felt consoled.<p>

"Seems that you had also touched Yatogami Kuroh's life. Glad that you had left proof of your existence with him as well, Tatara." Anna mumbled to herself with tears beaming in her eyes while Kusanagi Izumo stood outside of her room smoking and watching over her quietly.


End file.
